Get the appCape Ballet will stage Swan Lake in Australia for the first time, with performances at Melbourne's Princess Theatre from April 21 to 25. The production features Tchaikovsky's score and a company of 60 dancers. Its story follows a princess cursed by a sorcerer to live as a swan, and a prince whose love can free her. The lead ballerina performs the dual roles of Odette, the White Swan, and Odile, the Black Swan.
West Australian Ballet head of wigs and makeup Rebecca Bank is one of only a few people in the state who make wigs for shows for a living. Her handmade wigs, mostly from human hair, can take weeks to complete and cost about $5,000 each. Dancers must be able to change wigs in under two minutes off-stage. Since February, 18 students at Perth's North Metropolitan TAFE have been learning wigmaking, costume, special effects and makeup, with lecturer Delia Stanley saying the course lets young wigmakers work in WA.
Former Daylesford resident Jasmine Gruar, a ballet dancer, has been featured on the front page of The Local in a painting. Her grandmother, Irene Mooney, created the acrylic portrait to celebrate Jasmine's recent 21st birthday, and Jasmine was thrilled with the gift. Jasmine trained from a young age at Starz Dance Centre in Kyneton and later with Ballet Theatre Australia. She has performed in ballets including The Nutcracker and Giselle, and now teaches dance to pre-schoolers in Melbourne.
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Get the appEight-year-old Issaiah Apap, from Sunbury, will play Young Fritz in The Nutcracker. The production opens at Melbourne's Ian Potter State Theatre on 24 October and runs until 31 October. Issaiah has danced since he was about one year old and trains at Flashdance Performing Arts. Rehearsals began on 13 October, and his family has rearranged school pick-ups and sport schedules to support him. The production follows Clara, a young ballet student, on a magical Christmas Eve adventure.
Ballet dancer Li Cunxin has released The Lucky Son, his second memoir, 14 years after Mao's Last Dancer. The book picks up as Cunxin and his wife Mary move to Houston Ballet. It also traces the family's experience of raising their deaf daughter Sophie, whose 2015 email to her parents prompted them to learn Auslan. Cunxin later became artistic director of Queensland Ballet, where he oversaw a new home for the company, the Thomas Dixon Centre. He says ballet remains special despite concerns about artificial intelligence.